Jamaican State Minister Calls for End to Visa Requirements for Citizens Travelling to the UK
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As Jamaica remains the sole country with the British monarch as head of state that requires visas to enter the United Kingdom, Jamaican State Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Alando Terrelonge, has called for an end to all visa requirements
The UK’s reigning monarch, King Charles III, is currently the head of state for Jamaica and 13 other independent countries, including Saint Kitts and Nevis, the Bahamas, Australia, New Zealand, and Antigua and Barbuda. Despite Jamaica’s classification as a Commonwealth realm, citizens are still required to apply for a visa to travel to the UK, and a substantial percentage of visitor visa application refusals have been recorded.
The UK’s visa restrictions on Jamaica were imposed on citizens in 2003, with the prime minister of the country and even the King’s representative, the governor-general, subject to its rules. During his recent trip to London to mark the Windrush 75th anniversary celebrations, Minister Terrelonge told The Independent that his office has been lobbying the British government through dialogue with the office of the British High Commission in Kingston.
According to Terrelonge, the removal of visa requirements for government officials and persons with legitimate business interests would be a great start and would indicate a united Commonwealth. The minister noted that Europeans and Americans were allowed to travel extensively throughout the world without a visa and expressed the government’s wish for the same for Jamaicans.
“Jamaica is a brand, a cultural powerhouse; people of the world will come to Jamaica and enjoy the wonders that there are. We would want that for our nationals as well,” Terrelonge stated.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced in March the country’s intention to become an independent republic during the Prince and Princess of Wales’s royal tour of the island. That objective was further confirmed as a priority by Terrelonge.
A republic will be established in Jamaica by 2025, according to the minister of legal and constitutional affairs, Marlene Malahoo Forte and members of the Constitutional Reform Committee (CRC) have already been selected.
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